The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Hindi and Urdu pronunciations in Wikipedia articles.
See Hindi-Urdu phonology for a more thorough discussion of the sounds of Hindustani.
Consonants |
IPA |
Hindi |
Urdu |
English equivalent |
b |
ब |
ب |
abash |
bʱ |
भ |
بھ |
abhor |
d̪ [1] |
द |
د |
ado |
d̪ʱ [1] |
ध |
دھ |
adhere |
ɖ [1] |
ड |
ڈ |
guard |
ɖʱ [1] |
ढ |
ڈھ |
guardhouse |
dʒ |
ज |
ج |
hedge |
dʒʱ |
झ |
جھ |
hedgehog |
f |
फ़ |
ف |
food |
ɡ |
ग |
گ |
agate |
ɡʱ |
घ |
گھ |
pigheaded |
h |
ः |
ح |
head |
ɦ |
ह |
ahead |
j |
य |
ي |
yak |
k |
क |
ک |
scan |
kʰ |
ख |
کھ |
can |
l |
ल |
ل |
leaf |
m |
म |
م |
much |
n |
न |
ن |
not |
ɳ |
ण |
- |
burner
|
ŋ |
ं |
- |
bank |
p |
प |
پ |
span |
pʰ |
फ |
پھ |
pan
(often pronounced [f] in Hindi) |
q |
क़ |
ق |
a k in the throat
(Urdu; often [k] in Hindi) |
r |
र |
ر |
trilled r |
ɽ |
ड़ |
ڑ |
US: larder |
ɽʱ |
ढ़ |
ڑھ |
as [ɽ] plus h |
s |
स |
س |
sue |
ʂ |
ष |
– |
worship
|
ʃ |
श |
ش |
shoe |
t̪ [1] |
त |
ت |
stable |
t̪ʰ [1] |
थ |
تھ |
table |
ʈ [1] |
ट |
ٹ |
art |
ʈʰ [1] |
ठ |
ٹھ |
art-historian |
tʃ |
च |
چ |
catch |
tʃʰ |
छ |
چھ |
choose |
ʋ[2] |
व |
و |
varies between w and v |
x |
ख़ |
خ |
Bach
(Urdu; often [kʰ] in Hindi) |
ɣ |
ग़ |
غ |
like a French r
(Urdu; often [ɡ] in Hindi). Close to uvular flap. |
z |
ज़ |
ز |
zen |
ʒ |
झ़ |
ژ |
pleasure |
|
Vowels |
IPA |
Hindi |
Urdu |
English equivalent |
aː |
आ, पा |
آ, ـا |
bra |
eː |
ए, पे |
ے |
between yell and Yale |
ɛː |
ऐ, पै |
yell |
ə |
अ, प |
ـَ |
nut |
iː [3] |
ई, पी |
ی |
feet |
ɪ [3] |
इ, पि |
ـِ |
dill |
oː |
ओ, पो |
و |
old |
ɔː |
औ, पौ |
law |
uː [3] |
ऊ, पू |
loot |
ʊ [3] |
उ, पु |
ـُ |
look |
̃ |
ँ |
ں |
nasal vowel
([ãː], [õː], etc.) |
Suprasegmentals |
IPA |
|
ˈ |
stress
(placed before stressed syllable) |
ː |
doubled consonant |
|
- ^ a b c d e f g h To an English ear, [t̪ t̪ʰ ʈ ʈʰ] all sound like /t/, and [d̪ d̪ʱ ɖ ɖʱ] all sound like /d/. However, to a Hindi-Urdu speaker's ear these are very different sounds. [t̪ d̪] are like Spanish or French [t d], with the tongue touching the teeth, and [t̪ʰ d̪] are how a Hindi-Urdu speaker hears English /θ ð/ (the th sounds). Hindi-Urdu [ʈ ɖ] are pronounced with the tongue further back, touching behind the teeth, and [ʈʰ ɖ] are how a Hindi-Urdu speaker hears English t d; [ʈ] is how they hear English t after s.
- ^ [v], [w] and intermediate [ʋ] are allophonic in Hindi-Urdu. Some words, such as vrat ('व्रत', fast), are pronounced with [v] and others, such as pakwan ('पकवान', food dish), are pronounced with [w].
- ^ a b c d /iː, ɪ/ and /uː, ʊ/ are neutralized to [i, u] at the end of a word.